Semantics of insulin
Ege, H.
Diabetic Medicine a Journal of the British Diabetic Association 3(3): 212-215
1986
ISSN/ISBN: 0742-3071 PMID: 2951171 Document Number: 276911
The lack of a stringent terminology and a well-defined vocabulary for insulin and related subjects has been a deterrent to solving many of the problems encountered when using insulin in pumps. The same word is sometimes used to describe a number of different phenomena or the same phenomenon is referred to by different words. Thus the word 'insulin', meaning the substance, the protein hormone, is commonly used as a synonym for an 'insulin formulation' for the treatment of diabetes. The 'insulin dimer' can be the covalent or the non-covalent dimer, two very different substances. 'Isoelectric precipitation' is often mistaken for 'fibrillation' and both are referred to as 'aggregation' or 'polymerization'. The word 'crystal' is being used as a synonym for 'particle', and determination of 'the content of insulin' by HPLC is sometimes called a 'bioassay'. The nature and consequences of these pitfalls are discussed, and advice is given on how to avoid them.